Ayurveda is a 5000 year old form of medicine and holistic health care system that originated in India. It is the sister science to Yoga. In Sanskrit, “Ayer” means “life” and “veda” is “science” and so it is the “science of life”. Ayurveda is a preventative science that is about balance and harmony within one’s body, mind and spirit and the belief in the body’s innate capacity to heal itself. According to Ayurveda, there are three “doshas” or body constitutions — pitta (fire/water), vata (air/space) and kapha (earth/water). These relate to a person’s unique proportion of the the five elements — fire, water, air, space and earth. When the elements are in balance, a person is in optimal health. Usually, though a person has more of one element than others (especially during particular seasons) and this is determined by consulting with an Ayurvedic practitioner. In order to bring a person into balance, Ayurveda takes into account the season (Fall is Vata season), the person’s dosha and evaluates the whole person and then addresses the imbalanced dosha. A practitioner will suggest modifications to diet and lifestyle, practicing specific yoga postures, meditation, mantra and more in order to bring about balance.
A few symptoms that help to identify each dosha are:
Pitta: anger, heartburn, oily skin
Vata: anxiety, bloating, dry skin
Kapha: depression, weight gain/overeating, lethargic
Below are a few Ayurvedic tips that you can start using right away at meal times that will help with digestion, which is a common vata issue:
-Chew mindfully, 32 times for each bite of food. Eat slowly.
-Do not eat standing up or on the subway. Eat at a table and do not watch TV or work on computer while eating.
-Avoid ice-water or cold drinks while you eat. Once you are finished eating, drink room temperature water.
-Eat fresh food — no leftovers or frozen foods, which lack prana.
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